SANTA CRUZ -- Friends of a Santa Cruz woman slain in the Morrissey Boulevard apartment she shared with her boyfriend interrupted the savage attack but could not stop Wensy Sanchez from thrusting a large kitchen knife through the woman's neck, District Attorney Bob Lee told a judge Thursday morning.

Lee shared gruesome details of the moments leading up to Juli Entwistle's death during a hearing to increase Sanchez's bail. Judge Paul Marigonda agreed to double Sanchez's bail to $2 million.

Sanchez has been charged with murder and kidnapping, but has not entered a plea.

Lee said all murders are horrendous, but this one was "particularly disturbing."

A neighbor told police she heard Entwistle screaming around 4 a.m. Saturday. The neighbor said she ran to get Entwistle's ex-husband, who also lives in the apartment complex. Together they went to the apartment Entwistle, 41, and Sanchez, 39, shared. The door was jammed shut -- police later learned it was blocked by a chair -- so they shattered a window near the door and pushed aside the curtain, Lee said in court.

The woman told police she saw Entwistle was on the ground, struggling against Sanchez. She and Entwistle's ex yelled for Sanchez to stop and tried to reach through the broken window to hit him with a fire extinguisher, but couldn't stop him. Sanchez yelled at them to get away, Lee said in court.

The woman ran to call 911, but by the time police and medics arrived, Entwistle was lifeless on the floor near the apartment door, Lee said.

Police found an 8-inch-long, 2½-inch-wide French kitchen knife they suspect was the murder weapon. The tip was broken off, likely during the violent attack, Lee said.

Lee told Marigonda that Sanchez was arrested and charged with beating up his then-girlfriend in 2000, but the charges were dropped when the woman declined to testify and moved out of state. Two other women contacted investigators and shared accounts of Sanchez's "controlling and jealous tendencies," Lee said.

During the hearing, Sanchez's citizenship also came into question. Lee said Sanchez told police investigators that he is a Mexican citizen in the United States illegally. The murder suspect has relatives in the Santa Cruz area with significant property holdings and possibly could post bail for him, Lee said.

"If he goes to Mexico, the ability for us to bring him back could be clearly hindered," Lee said.

Public defender Diana August, who has been handling Sanchez's case, argued that increasing his bail was unnecessary because Sanchez doesn't have the money. His family doesn't have the ability or desire to post bond for him, she said.

"Whether it's $1 million or $2 million doesn't really make a difference," August said.

Detectives are still trying to sort out Sanchez's status in the U.S., according to Deputy Santa Cruz Police Chief Rick Martinez.

Adding to the confusion is Sanchez's Social Security card, which is in his name but carries a date of birth of 1958. Sanchez was born in 1971, according to police.